PHOTOGRAPHING AT NESTS
Breeding season offers great chances for photographing birds, but expertise and extreme caution are required.
Especially when photographing at nests, the birds’ needs come first. You need a thorough understanding of the species’ behavior and ecology, and you need to minimize any potential disturbance to breeding. Species knowledge is essential because some species are more vulnerable than others, and there is also variation among individuals. Prerequisites for photographing at nests are knowledge of the birds’ behavior, their alarm calls, and their natural feeding intervals so you can stop your project before any harm is done. If the parent is sounding alarm calls ceaselessly, or seems to not be feeding its young at a normal pace, or stays away from the nest, you must leave. Common sense is often helpful, and you must know when to quit before problems occur. If a parent is constantly calling out in apparent stress, it can attract predators and lead to the nest being revealed and destroyed. If you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts and stop your project. Some species show their distress clearly; others don’t necessarily show it, but their fear may cause them to shun the nest as long as you’re near.
In most countries, nest photography requires permission from environmental authorities. In Finland, all intentional disturbances of birds, especially during breeding, are forbidden by the Nature Conservation Act. Strictly speaking, this means that permission is needed to photograph the nests of all species, but the authorities probably don’t want to be swamped by thousands of applications for photographing, say, a European Pied Flycatcher at nest. As a guiding principle, the less common the species, the more likely that permission is needed. Don’t go to the nest unless you know for sure what the legal situation is. It’s a good idea to contact the relevant authorities well in advance to find out if permission is needed for the species you are planning to photograph at nest.
There is at least one known case in Finland where a person photographed at a Golden Eagle’s nest without a license and got fined afterwards based on his published photo. Nest photography, and other potential disturbances, will surely get even closer attention in the future. Therefore, if you have plans to photograph at a raptor’s nest, for example, always find out about the permission policy and get a license when needed. Note that you need good justification for your project; where permissions are needed, they are rarely issued just for fun.
Disturbance
Does nest photography disturb birds, and if it does, how much? If you plan and execute the project with knowledge and caution, and always use an escort and monitor the parents’ behavior to gauge that all is well, then it isn’t a disturbance. Images of Snowy Owl parents feeding their young in the nest tell us that the birds have been conditioned to a blind and an escort has been used.
As a rule, photographing raptors at nest requires permission. A Northern Harrier feeding its young (Circus cyaneus)
. Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 70–200mm f/2.8, 1/800 second, 155mm, f/5.6, ISO 500, manual focus, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind. Oulu, Finland, June 2005.
A male Great Gray Owl brings a vole to the female, who cuts it up for the chicks (Strix nebulosa)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 500mm f/4.0, 1/250 second, f/7.1, ISO 1000, manual focus, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind in a tree. Siikajoki, Finland, May 2006.
A female Snowy Owl feeding a chick (Bubo scandiacus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 500mm f/4.0 plus 2x extender, 1/500 second, f/10.0, ISO 800, manual focus, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind. Inari, Finland, July 2007.
A Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker peeks out from its nest hole (Picoides tridactylus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 180mm f/3.5 macro, 1/100 second, f/5.0, ISO 200, manual focus, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, remote control. Kuusamo, Finland, June 2005.
This minimizes any potential risk to breeding.
Breeding season is a vital and vulnerable time in birds’ lives. Breeding can fail for many reasons. If, for example, one of the parents dies, the remaining parent struggles and often fails in getting the young out of the nest and onto their wings. Many raptors have clearly defined parental roles, with the male hunting and then giving the prey to the female, who cuts it up for the young.
In the summer of 2007 we were in Finnish Lapland photographing breeding Snowy Owls, with permission. We spotted a male Snowy Owl chasing a Golden Eagle high up in the sky over the open landscape of gently sloping arctic hills, and we came to the conclusion that a nest could be found in that direction—and it was. Unfortunately, what we found was eight dead chicks of different ages and three plump lemmings neatly laid out on the edge of the nest. The male Snowy Owl was observing us from a distance of about 50 m (164 ft), but we hadn’t seen a glimpse of the female. The male had brought prey to the nest but didn’t know how to cut it up for the chicks, who were still too young to swallow the lemmings whole. The chicks had starved to death alongside their food because something had apparently happened to the female. Our bet was on the Golden Eagle we had seen earlier.
Photographers at a Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker’s nest (Picoides tridactylus)
. The image was taken with a remote control.
Canon EOS 5D, 16–35mm f/2.8, 1/500 second, 17mm, f/8.0, ISO 800, manual focus, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, remote control. Siikajoki, Finland, June 2009.
Conditioning
There are big differences among species regarding behavior in the nest, and there are also individual differences. Most species have a fear of the human shape and will not come to the nest if there are people in sight. With nest photography, the use of a blind is almost always the right method. The subjects of your project should be conditioned to the blind. With more timid species, the blind is first introduced at a distance, far from the nest but close enough so the birds can see it and get used to its shape and color. Move the blind forward about once a day. After you have moved the blind and walked away from it, stay for a while to follow the bird with your binoculars to see that it returns to the nest immediately after your departure. When your blind is close enough to the nest, you will always need an escort. This plays a major role in minimizing the disruption because seeing the human leave normally calms the birds down and makes them return to the nest quicker. Likewise, it would be good to have somebody come and pick you up from the blind, otherwise the nesting birds might be spooked by you emerging from the blind and they will start to fear it. Whenever you have more than one photographer involved in the same project, the next photographer functions as an escort—the switch causes minimal disruption. Each photographer should stay in the blind for long periods; if the switches are in a quick succession, they can be disruptive.
A remote control is a great option for nest photography because it allows you to operate your concealed camera from a distance. But note that some species won’t tolerate a camera next to their nests!
Birds are very particular in selecting nesting sites, and a photographer must always respect the nest’s privacy and protection. Many species build their nests in very secretive and safe places.
If the nest is hidden, do not bring it out into the open or you might inadvertently seal the brood’s fate. Predators will easily find nests that are out in the open. If a branch is hiding the nest, find a way around it instead of removing it. If you must, you can briefly turn it aside, but make sure it’s back in the original place when you’re done. A sheltered nest also keeps the brood out of direct sunshine.
Some species are very approachable in the breeding season. A good example of a trusting bird is the Eurasian Dotterel; it can be photographed with a wide lens even when it is sitting in the nest. Another carefree species during the breeding season is the Eurasian Threetoed Woodpecker; a human presence doesn’t seem to bother it in the least.
Weather plays a role in nest photography, in more ways than you’d think. If it’s cold and windy or raining, you shouldn’t do anything that makes the parent leave the nest because it could expose the eggs or the small chicks to cold. The best conditions for nest photography are on a dry and warm, but not hot, day.
Photographs should not be taken at all costs. If you have even the slightest doubt that your photo project might harm the breeding, be prepared to quickly abort the project. Making birds and their breeding success a top priority should guide your actions. No photo is more important than the birds’ lives.
A Eurasian Dotterel captured at its nest with a wide lens (Charadrius morinellus)
Canon EOS 5D, 16–35mm f/2.8, 1/125 second, 35mm, f/16.0, ISO 200, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, handheld camera. Inari, Finland, June 2006.